Unauthorized pilot who died in wreck was drunk and ‘put to bed’ before crashing swiped helicopter into hotel
A rookie helicopter company worker got so drunk celebrating a promotion, he had to be “put to bed” by colleagues — before he swiped a chopper and died by crashing into an Australian hotel, according to reports.
Blake Wilson, 23, partied Sunday night at a bash in Cairns celebrating his promotion at Nautilus Aviation, where he had been working as a ground crew employee for four months, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
He got so “intoxicated,” he had to be “put to bed” by co-workers, witnesses told the Daily Mail.
Wilson — who had a pilot’s license in New Zealand but was not permitted to fly in Australia — then got up and “gained unauthorized access” to a hangar and “misappropriated” an R44 Robinson helicopter, the company said.
He hovered over a no-fly zone above the central business district before crashing into the roof of DoubleTree by Hilton just before 2 a.m. Monday, officials said.
Wilson was killed as the chopper crashed and smashed the windows of several rooms.
A woman in her 70s and man in his 80s were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn confirmed that off-duty pilots and other employees gathered Sunday night for dinner and drinks to celebrate Wilson’s recent promotion.
“This was a privately organized send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning’s incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases,” Finn said.
“This was not a work event and had been coordinated by friends.”
Cairns Airport said an initial review indicated security had not been compromised.
“Our thoughts are with all affected by the distressing incident at Cairns Esplanade,” CEO Richard Barker said in a statement.
“Cairns Airport operates under a federally approved, multi-layered transport security program. To reassure our community, we wish to confirm a review has been conducted, showing no compromise of our airport fence or access points.”
